Week 2 - Key Run Workout #2

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I’ll start off with a quote from yesterday’s bike ride post:

“Tomorrow I lace up my running shoes for a 7 mile tempo run - I can’t wait!“

Who was I kidding? Driving home from work, the temperature gauge in my MINI read 100°F Storms were forecast within the next 60 to 90 minutes, so I had a couple of decisions to make:

• Run inside on the treadmill and try to simulate the pace required for tonight’s workout (1 mile easy, followed by 5 miles @ PMP, followed by another easy mile).
• Run outside as soon as I reached home. I’d be finished within the hour and hopefully miss the storm, but would have to endure the heat.
• Wait for the storm to pass and hope there’s still time left to run.
• Skip the workout, drink beer and pig out.

Ok, so #4 was out of the question, I didn’t want to run indoors and as the storm could last for hours I decided to run outside and face the heat again. After all, I’d been drinking all day, was well hydrated and should be more used to the heat and humidity of Virginia Beach again after 2 weeks out of the country.

How wrong I was….again! I set my Garmin 305 to workout mode to help keep me inline with the planned pace, and off I went. The easy mile was just that - easy. The first mile at PMP (Planned Marathon Pace - 6:41 per mile) was comfortable too. In fact my Garmin beeped several times to tell me to slow down. Even the second mile was ok as I got into a groove and stuck to the required pace.

So, 3 miles into the 7 mile workout and I was feeling ok. Yeah, the heat was oppressive, but the wind was in my face and it actually felt quite good. The problem was I’d already consumed the 2 small bottles of water I carried in my amphipod and now I needed (a) more water and (b) to find a bathroom - I needed to go so bad…..

No matter, about a mile away was the Princess Anne Athletic Complex with public restrooms and a couple of water fountains. What more could a guy ask for? I was still on pace (my Garmin wasn’t beeping at me anyway) when I reached the water fountain and consumed several large gulps of delicious cold water. Next door was the restroom, but guess what? It was locked. Typical. There was another door round the corner but this was locked too. Great, I’m about 2 miles from home and I need to relieve myself so bad. Oh well, all I can do is stop thinking about it and run home as fast as I can. I decide to take a few more gulps from the fountain before setting off again.

By now I’d wasted maybe a minute or two, my Garmin was telling me to speed up and I felt really weak. Not only was it was a struggle to get my legs moving again, but worryingly my heart rate was rapidly rising. I tried as hard as I could to get back to my required average pace but Coach Garmin was telling me I was too slow. Thanks Coach. Part of the problem was I’d stopped running and had time to make up, but the bigger problem was I couldn’t run any quicker.

At the 6 mile mark, still a mile away from home, and with an ever increasing heart rate, I decided enough was enough and started jogging. 5 miles at PMP would have to be 4 miles at just over PMP, and the last mile would be whatever it would be. I must admit with my heart rate just a couple of beats from my max, I was more concerned for my safety than anything else. The last mile turned into a miserable walk/jog home, and when my heart rate reached 160 beats per minute, I would start walking until it recovered to 140 bpm before allowing myself to start jogging again. Chances are not worth taking when you’re dealing with heat, sun, weakness and a high heart rate.

Eventually I reached home, took a long cold shower and replaced some of my lost fluids and minerals with Gatorade and water. Ironically, by the time I was out of the shower, the storm had kicked in, the rain was bucketing down and the temperature was 20 degrees cooler. Maybe I should have waited after all?

So, 5 workouts of the marathon training plan completed, and only 1 has been really successful. Friday is a rest day and I’m due to race the Derby Day 5k on Saturday before finishing off the week with a challenging 15 miler on Sunday. Confidence - I need you back…and fast!